Leave me alone!
by Voyevoda3203
Summary: Chapter 8 is up! Thanks to all who waited so patiently. Hey, folks, now with Selphie gone, how will things turn out? Find out. R
1. Chapter One: An Annoyance

Disclaimer. Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. I don't own anything but the story. I am not worthy to write this, blah blah blah. I get the point. 

"Ok, class," called one of the Instructors at Balamb Garden. "I have planned an assignment for you which may be a little different from the previous ones." The Instructor picked up his clipboard and began to read through a list of directions. "This assignment is actually a project," he continued on. 

"Blah, blah, blah, blah," Seifer muttered to himself. He turned around and looked at Quistis who paid close attention to the Instructor. He admired her professionalism. The way she tapped her pen against her temple, and even the way she adjusted her glasses. He even loved the way she nodded every few seconds when the Instructor made a point. Seifer would be complete if only Quistis would notice him, but his appemts to win her over didn't quite work out as planned. He sent her chocolates once, but he mistakenly sent them to a different room. He tried sending her flowers, but it just so happened that she was allergic to the petunias he sent her and she broke out into a deep red rash. If only somehow she would fall for him....

Quistis was paying close attention to her Instructor and was scribbling down some notes when she felt as if someone was watching her. At first she tried to ignore the disturbing feeling, but she couldn't shake it. She had to know who it was, though she had a rough idea. 

Modestly, she glanced around the room, hoping to catch somebody red-handed staring at her. Then a few desks in front of her and a row or two over, she spotted him. The most annoying man on earth. Seifer. Quistis blushed a crimson red out of embarrassment and out of annoyance. For nearly a month now Seifer tried desperately to convince her to go with him. And for nearly a month, Quistis refused him and mostly tried to avoid him. _Can't he just get the hint? _Quistis asked herself. _Especially after the petunias...._

Quistis leaned forward in her desk, and tapped Selphie on her shoulder. She turned around curiously. "Yeah?"

"He's doing it again," Quistis said, pointing at Seifer who was still gazing at her. 

Selphie giggled a bit. "I think it's cute. Seifer falling head over heels for somebody. I never imagined that he could be so romantic."

"It's not funny!" Quistis hissed. She quickly shut up and looked around to see if anyone had noticed her sudden outburst. "It's annoying." She closed her eyes and massaged her temples. She didn't know for how much longer she could take this torture.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Trepe," a voice said. 

Quistis opened her eyes and was greeted with her Instructors face. "Would you like to share with the class what is so amusing? I'm sure everyone would like to be in on it too." 

Quistis gulped and shook her head.

"Well, then," the Instructor went on. "Let's move on to the project. I will allow the class to work in pairs on this....."

Quistis' head snapped up and looked at her teacher in shock. _No! Anything but this! _Once again, she felt Seifers eyes upon her. She wanted to melt in the floor. 

"....that I will assign to you," the Instructor finished. 

The whole class groaned and so did Seifer, but Quistis' heart soared. The chances on her Instructor pairing her up with Seifer were a slim chance, but it was still a chance. _Now as long as the Instructor didn't ruin it._

"Selphie Tillmit," the Instructor called. He glanced at his clipboard and glanced back up at her. "You'll be paired off with....."

Selphie said a quick prayer that she would be with Irvine and held her breath. 

"......Squall Leonhart."

Selphie let her breath out defeated. "Squall?" she whined. "But I wanna be paired with Irvine!" She glanced at him, but he only gave her a weak nod of reassurance. Quistis barely even noticed her friends whining. She was too intent on hearing her name being called out. 

"Irvine, you will be paired with Nida." 

Irvine groaned at glared at him. The two had become rivals ever since one night in the Training Center he revealed his feelings for Selphie. This wasn't going to be good. 

The Instructor busied himself with calling out the rest of the classes names. Quistis was biting off her nails now. Her name hadn't been called yet and neither did Seifers. It pretty much looked like they would be paired together. Then, finally it came down to the last four people: Quistis, Rinoa, Zell and Seifer. 

_Please don't pair me with Seifer, _Quistis pleaded to Hyne. 

_Please pair me with Quistis, _Seifer also pleaded to Hyne. 

"Rinoa," the teacher called. His voice seemed to slow down like a sluggish record player. "You will be paired with....."

Quistis closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. 

"....Zell. That leaves Quistis and Seifer together."

The bell rang and the class filed out, but Quistis didn't even move from her seat. 

"I can't believe it," Quistis muttered to herself. She trudged through the Garden hallways slowly. She had been in the Training Center most of the day, but she still couldn't get the events of the day out of her mind. They kept playing over and over in her mind. Like a movie.

_Flashback _

After class filed out, she finally got up from her desk and strode out of the class only to find the one and only Seifer waiting for her. She immediately tried dart the other way before he noticed her, but no such luck. He spotted her once she walked out of the class. 

"Where you going, Quisty?" Seifer asked her, using her nick-name. 

Quistis turned around. "To...go and start the project." She avoided his prying eyes and kept her own on the floor. 

"Oh, great," he said. "I was just going to start it too." He stood next to her and waited until she was ready to leave. 

Quistis nodded unenthusiastically and trudged towards the library. When they got there, Quistis turned to him. "Say, Seifer," she said. "Why don't you get started on one half of the project and I'll get started on the other half." She looked up at him into his reluctant eyes. 

"Well," he started. 

"Here," she interrupted. She shrugged her book bag off and set it next to Seifers. She pulled a scrap sheet of paper and scribbled something down onto it. Then she picked up her book bag. "You go check out the time of this guys DOB and DOD and I'll go check out what he invented and what made him so special." She gave him the small sheet of paper and turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. He looked as if he was about to say something. "Not now, Seifer," Quistis interrupted, nervously giggling. She pulled herself out of his grasp. "Time is money." Then she turned to leave as quickly as possible. 

"Uh, ok," Seifer said and he stared at the piece of paper she gave him.

"Whew," Quistis sighed. She glanced back to see if he had followed her, and thankfully he didn't. "I can't keep avoiding this," she said. She pulled her book bag off of her shoulders and pulled out a spiral notebook. She opened it, but then stopped when she realized that it wasn't hers. "Oh, great. I must've grabbed Seifers bag." She turned the bag over and saw that it didn't even look remotely like hers. 

"Oh, well. I'll just give it back to him when I see him later." She flipped the spiral notebook to find a blank sheet, but then he saw something else that caught her eye. "What's this?" she murmured. She looked back to see if anyone was around watching and brought it closer to her face. She gasped when she read the words that were furiously scribbled across the whole notebook. 

_Seifer loves Quisty _was all that it read. 

Quistis blushed as she thought of him. "This guy is crazy." She closed the notebook just as she heard scuffling feet close by. 

"Quisty," a voice said. 

Quistis spun around, embarrassed at almost being caught looking where she wasn't supposed to be. "Uh, Seifer," she said, tucking a thick chunk of her hair behind her ear. She didn't like the feeling of it, and she untucked it, playing with it nervously. "What can I do for you?"

Seifer stared into her eyes. "Why don't you do that more often?" he asked her. 

Quisits felt as she were put on the spot. "What?" 

"With your hair," he replied. "Why don't you put it all the way up instead of letting those two pieces hang down. They just cover up your beauty." He brought a hand up to her face and she quickly ducked out of the way. 

"Uh," she started nervously. "Was there anything else that you wanted?" She tried to keep a safe distance away from him just incase she needed to escape. 

Seifer seemed to snap out of his daze. "Oh, right." He reached down next to him and pulled up a book bag. "You grabbed the wrong one." He handed it to her. 

"Oh, yeah. I realized that when I grabbed your notebook," Quistis said. She took her book bag form him and placed it on the table. 

"My notebook?" Seifer asked. He seemed somewhat alarmed. 

"Yeah," Quistis said. She gave him his bag. 

"Did you....see anything?" Seifer asked cautiously. He narrowed his eyes as if to read her.

_Where is he going with this? _Quisits thought to herself. She began to tug her hair again. "Uh, I didn't see anything. Why?" 

Seifer smiled and had a....relieved.......look on his face?

"Ok," he said. He just stood there. 

"Ok," Quistis echoed. _Ok, he's got his book bag, he got his assignment that he needs to start. Why is he just standing there? If he doesn't move then I'll need to make an escape route. _

Seifer took a small step towards Quisits, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. "Oh, look at the time," Quisits said not even looking at her watch. "I got to go and do that...thing I just remembered I had to do." She gathered her things and ran out of there. "Sorry," she called over her shoulder. 

Seifer stared after and hung his head. _When is she ever going to realize that I am the one for her?_

_End Flashback_

Quistis continued to walk towards her dorm, her footsteps seemingly getting slower with each step. She was lacking the sleep that she needed and craved for. "Oh, Hyne," she murmured. "Please let this nightmare end." She walked closer to the wall and held onto it. She almost felt drunk. "What's wrong with me?" Her footsteps ceased. She could see her dorm room now. It was so close that she would be there in the comfort of her room in a matter of seconds, but in her mind the room seemed to stretch out farther than she could reach. She squinted her eyes as her vision began to go blurry. She couldn't seem to focus as well as she could before. She could feel her heart racing and her breathing speeding up. 

_Am I hyperventilating? What's wrong with me?_

Quistis glanced around the dark hallway. She could make out a figure rushing towards her. She opened her mouth to try and speak, but she ended up just slurring and sounding like an idiot. 

Then she fell to the floor. 

A. N. : Sorry so short, but I am trying to get a story going on here. Tell me if you want me to continue or not. Don't expect anything big because I am just writing this because I am in a similar situation where this guy won't leave me alone. Continue or no continue? Continue or no continue. Woe is me.


	2. Chapter Two: A Rude Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII. I just own the story....I know, I know. 

Quistis' eyes fluttered open a little and looked around. She was on a bed in a darkened room. She struggled to sit up, but a wave of nausea came over her and she fell back down. "Is somebody there?" she asked, her voice trembling as she spoke. 

Then she heard heavy footsteps approaching her. Alarmed, Quistis stumbled out of the bed and tried to find a door to escape. "Don't come any closer!" she warned. She reached for her Save the Queen, but it wasn't looped at her side like it usually was. Instead, she grabbed what she thought was a vase and shielded herself with it. 

She opened her mouth to say something else, but then a light turned on. Quistis squinted, startled and blinded by the change in the room. 

"Calm down, Quistis," a voice said. 

She turned her head towards the voice, still blinded. "Seifer?" she asked hysterically. "What the hell is going on?" She put the vase down and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?"

Seifer took a step towards her. "We're in my dorm," he said simply. He reached a hand towards her and she ducked out of the way. 

"Your...your dorm! Why are we here? What did we..." Quistis tried to keep a safe distance away, but she just ended bumping into the wall. She could see his hand reaching towards her and was about to smack it away, but his hand reached past her to the wall and he switched on another light. Quistis breathed a sigh of relief. _Why are you being so paranoid? _she asked herself. _It's just Seifer. He's...a friend....who am I kidding? He's a friend who keeps trying to get with you and every where you turn he seems to be there hiding in the shadows ready to pounce. _

Seifer chuckled at her nervousness. "Don't you remember? You were walking to your dorm and then you passed out. Didn't you go to the Training Center? I think that it may have just been dehydration. And don't worry. Nothing happened." He strode a couch and sat down, grabbing the remote. He looked at her, urging her to do the same. She just stood there. 

"Uh, Seifer," Quistis started. "Thank you for helping me and all. I really, really appreciate it, but I have to go back to my dorm now. I have tons of work to get finished and I have a test tomorrow...."

Seifer nodded. "Alright. I understand. I'll see you tomorrow." He watched her as she grabbed her Save the Queen from the nightstand next to the bed. Just as she turned to leave, he called back after her, "Oh, and good luck on your History test." 

Quistis looked at him strangely and then hurried out of his dorm. 

_Oh, Hyne, _Quisits said to herself. _What is going on? Why is he appearing everywhere I turn? He must be following me. _She hurried along the hallways, looking behind her to see if he was there. _ How did he know that I went to the Training Center earlier? And how does he so conveniently appear when something happens? And more importantly, how did he know that I had a History test?!_

The next morning

"Good morning, Balamb Garden. This is your wake up call, so WAKE UP!!!!!"

Quistis groaned and grabbed her alarm clock. She threw it across the room and it hit the wall. She got up sluggishly and walked towards her shower. She didn't take one last night and desperately wanted one. 

She was just about to get undressed, but then she heard a knock on her door. 

"Oh, Hyne!" she cried out. "What does it take to live peacefully?" She walked to the door, her hair a mess and in her sleeping clothes and she swung the door open. "What." she said, deadpan. It was a statement and not a question. 

An old looking man stood at her door and he looked like a bellboy, except....older. "Quistis Trepe?" he asked with a huge smile on his face. 

She nodded and knew what was to come. He brought a harmonica to his lips and blew into it, tuning himself. Then he cleared his throat. Then he started to sing. Terribly off-key. Quisits just stared at him, blank faced until he finished. When he did, he handed her a brown package. She looked at it, then closed the door in his face. 

"What's it this time, Seifer?" she asked irritably. "More petunias? More chocolates? Well maybe you sent them to the right dorm this time." She threw the brown box onto her bed and continued towards the bathroom. 

She turned the shower on full blast and tested the water. It was scolding hot. "This is what I need," she murmured to herself as she got into the shower. "I need to relax." She pulled out her peach shampoo and lathered it into her hair. She loved the smell and was almost in a trance before there was another knock on the door. 

"No!" she yelled. She stared at the door from the bathroom and decided not to answer it. She raised the water pressure and tried to drown out the knocking. She could still hear it. Then she started to sing. Her voice carried on through the bathroom and drowned out the knocking. She smiled happily and continued to wash her hair and her body.....she didn't even notice her door being opened.

She was almost lost again, but then she glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It read 8:45 am. "I'm almost late!" she cried out. She grabbed her towel from the towel rack and wrapped it around her body. She hurried to dry herself and to get dressed. "Hurry, hurry, hurry," she chanted. She grabbed her hairdryer and plugged it in. She turned it on and held it to her head, trying quickly to dry the strands, all the while, she was brushing her teeth with the other hand. She bent over to spit the toothpaste out, then she stood upright again. She looked into the mirror and realized that there were two faces in the image. One was definitely hers, but the other had a knit mask on. 

"Hey," Quistis muttered, confused and startled, her eyebrows furrowing.

Then the man reached over her head and wrapped a chain around her throat. 

Quistis eyes widened with fear and she clawed at his hands, trying to get him to loosen the chain. _Help me! Somebody! Squall, Selphie, Seifer! Help ,me!_

She kicked out her legs and tried to kick him in that spot that would send her free, but it was too hard to kick backwards. She was losing air and losing it fast. 

_Stop struggling, _Quisits told herself. She slowly went limp in his arms. He propped her up against his body, but his grip didn't loosen just yet. 

_I don't know how long I can go on without air!_ Quistis' mind screamed. She forced herself to stay limp. If it worked, then she would get out unharmed. 

He still held her tightly, but then his grip on the chain loosened and the air was coming back to her lungs. Quistis breathed in the air happily, but slowly so he wouldn't notice her chest rising and falling. 

__

Now just leave so I can go on with my life, Quistis pleaded. She struggled not to move, but it was becoming harder and harder by the second. She waited for him to drop her on the ground. To leave her, but instead, he grabbed her with more of a grip. He lifted her to his shoulder and he moved towards the door. _What is he doing! _her mind screamed. _Is he leaving!? What do I do?_

Quistis looked around the room for her whip, but it was all the way across the room on her bed, lying next to the box. _Seifer!_ Quistis thought. _He'll come. He always seems to be around. Maybe he'll come in time so he can save me! _Then something dawned onto Quistis. _What if this is already Seifer?_

A. N.: Ok, I truly don't know where this story is going. I'm just writing whatever comes to my mind. If you want, I'll keep continuing it, but it may take a while before this has a plot or something. Tell me if you want me to keep it rolling. 


	3. Chapter Three: The New Kid

_I need a way to escape, _Quistis told herself. The man still had a tight grip on her body. He strode to the door and opened it up quietly and slowly. 

_Now someone has to see me!_ Quistis thought gratefully. _How could somebody NOT notice a strange man in a black knit cap carrying a girl on his shoulder? _She opened her eyes and saw that nobody was around. _Somebody will come along, _Quistis thought. _This is a big Garden. There's somebody always walking around. Like that weird jogger I never talked to or the Trepes or something. Someone will rescue me._

Quistis lifted her head a little and saw a figure running towards them.

_And here he is._

Quistis opened her mouth and screamed loudly. She was never one to scream and she was quite surprised that it was so high-pitched. It almost reminded her of Rinoa. 

The man that was holding her dropped her to the floor once he saw someone jogging towards them. He paused and looked at Quistis then the man running towards them, then he ran out of the Garden. 

Quistis stood up angrily and brushed herself off. 

"Are you alright?" a voice asked. 

"Yes," Quistis said. "I'm al-" She looked up. She stared into a pool of sea green eyes. The most handsome eyes that she has ever seen before. "I'm great," she said breathlessly. 

"Well, that's good to hear." He smiled and she nearly melted. He had brown hair that made his eyes stand out even more. He was fairly tall, but not lankly like Irvine, but not muscled like Zell. He had a build that was in between. "I'm Davis." He held out his hand to her.

Quistis was practically drooling. _And I'm in love._

"I'm Quistis," she responded, snapping out of her trance. "Quistis Trepe." She took his hand and shook it. She didn't ever want to let go. 

"I'm a little lost," he said. "I just transferred from Trabia Garden and I don't know where anything is, though I am guessing that this is the girls dorms?" 

"Yup," Quistis said. She mentally kicked herself for her elaborate choice of words. "Uh, where are you headed?" She asked before she embarrassed herself even more. 

"To the Headmasters office. Can you help me find him?" He looked into her eyes and she felt a spell come over her. 

"Of course. I know the Headmaster personally and I'd be happy to help you out." She led him down towards the elevators. "You-you said that you transferred from Trabia?" she questioned him again, trying to make conversation. 

Davis nodded. "Yes. I just transferred yesterday. I didn't like the way they taught there. They lacked everything that is needed for teaching. Equipment, books, they even lacked intelligent instructors." He chuckled a bit at his own joke. Quistis just stared at him. 

"Yeah, well, did you know anyone by the name Selphie Tilmitt?" Quistis asked curiously. 

Davis' face suddenly went dark. "Selphie Tillmitt? How do you know her?" 

Quistis began to stutter. "Uh, well...she transferred here about a year ago. And she said that she was from Trabia and so are you, so I just wanted to know if you two knew each other, ok?" Quistis began to nervously wrap her hair around her finger. _How come every guy I meet they seem to be some kind of psycho? _

Davis' face returned back to smiling. "Yeah, I knew Selphie. We had some good times together." His eyes glazed over a little. 

_I bet you did, _Quistis thought, placing her hands on her hips. "Yeah, that's great. So, other than improper teaching and lack of necessities, are there any other reasons why you decided to leave Trabia Garden?" 

Davis thought a little bit. "Well, not really, but I heard that you have really great hotdogs here." He chuckled.

Quistis feigned a laugh. "Yup, Zell's gonna love you a whole bunch."

"Zell?" Davis asked and Quistis nodded. 

"Just one of my friends. You'll meet him sooner or later. Most likely in the cafeteria where he'll be hounding for a dog." Quistis began to walk. "Well, we better be heading to the Headmaster. I'm sure he'll want to meet you." 

Davis nodded and walked next to her down the hall. "I really appreciate this, Quistis," he said. "I mean, you're already my friend and you barely even knew me. Back at Trabia nobody would ever treat a new person the way you're treating me." His arm brushed against hers and she felt a slight tingle go through her. 

"Well, we're all friendly down here," Quistis said. She caught a glimpse of a shadow running through some of the large fern plants. "As long as you're not busy stalking someone," she mumbled quietly to herself.

"Hey," Irvine said to everyone at the lunch table. He put his tray down and pulled up a chair. "Who's the new guy?"

Squall and Zell looked over. "Hmm. Never seen him," Zell commented. He didn't even look at the guy. He was too busy on eating his first hotdog in a week. 

"I don't know," Squall said. He turned back around in his chair. "But Quistis has taken to him well." He nodded at the two. They were in the line and they were chatting away like old pals. 

Irvine shook his head. "I don't know. This guy seems kinda...." he did a little sing-song. "I don't think this is gonna be good."

"Aw," Rinoa said. "Give him a chance. He seems like a good guy." She hugged Squall from the side and blew into his ear. 

"Stop it," Squall whined annoyed. He never knew why girls always wanted to blow into somebody's ears. It always gave him an earache. Rinoa sat back down, hurt by him and also embarrassed. 

Selphie skipped towards the table. "Hey, everybody!" she said cheerfully. She set her tray down and took her usual seat next to Irvine. Uh, maybe I should say her usual seat _on top _of Irvine. She gave him a kiss and opened her Root Beer. She took a sip from it and set it back down. "So, what's new with everyone?" she asked. She always tried to make conversation with them even though there was usually nothing to talk about.

Irvine shook his head. "Nothing, really, but there's a new kid here and he's hanging with Quisty." He pointed to the lunch line to show her. Selphie turned around and looked. She could see Quistis, but only the back of someone's head. 

"Oh, that's nice," she said. She looked a little longer to see if he would turn around. She brought her root beer up to her mouth and took another sip. Then he turned around. 

_Ppppsssstttttttttt!!!!!!!!! _

Selphie's root beer went flying everywhere, not to mention on everyone at the table. 

"Hey!" Irvine cried out. He tried to shield himself, but it couldn't be helped. She was right in front of him. "What's wrong?" 

Selphie stood up and wiped the table off real quick with an extra napkin she had. "I am so soory, guys, but it's just that....I forgot that I needed to do something really important for the Garden Festival and I need to do it real fast." She looked back at the lunch line to make sure that he didn't notice the little commotion and she left without even giving Irvine a kiss good-bye.

_What the hell was that?! _Selphie cursed herself. She walked briskly out of the lunch room, trying to get by unnoticed. _What's he doing here? I thought I would never see him again in my life. _Selphie brought a hand up to her forehead and realized that she was burning up. _Irvine can't find out about this. I can not hang around with them all. Especially not after...._

"Selphie!" a voice called. She turned around to see Irvine chasing after her. "Are you alright? You seem a little....stressed or something." He rubbed the back of his head from beneath his cowboy hat. "You wanna talk about something?" He looked straight into her eyes.

Selphies heart broke. She hated to lie to him, but she needed to. At least for a while. "No, everything's fine. I just have to do something for the Garden Festival, like I said in there." She shuffled her feet on the marble floors and stared at them.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Davis, now does it?" Irvine asked. He reached for her. "You can tell me." 

Selphie shook her head trying to act confused. "Davis?"

"Yeah, the new kid." 

Selphie nodded and hit her head. "Oh, yeah. No, everything's fine, but I really, really need to get going now, ok?" Irvine nodded and she leaned up to give him a kiss to reassure him and left without another word.

"And that's Irvine," Quistis said to Davis. She pointed to the young cowboy who was walking back to the table. 

Irvine acknowledged him with a slight nod and sat down. 

Davis nodded back to him. "I'm Davis. I recently just transferred here from Trabia." 

Irvine was playing with his food, deep in thought, but then he stopped when he heard where Davis was from. "From Trabia?"

Davis nodded and Quistis interrupted him. "Yeah. He knew Selphie when they were in school together." She looked at Davis and whispered. "That's Selphies boyfriend."

Davis seemed fairly interested in this. "Oh, really? How long have you two been going out? A few weeks?" 

Irvine glared at him. "Try a few months." He put his fork down with a loud clatter and stood up. "If you will now excuse me Daivs, I have business I need to attend to." 

Davis nodded and watched the young man leave. "No problem there, Lone Ranger," he said to himself. Then he noticed a large man approach the table. He looked rather angry.

Quistis didn't notice him, though he seemed to be coming for her. "Uh, Quistis?" Davis asked. She looked at him questioningly. "Yes?"

"Uh, who's that?" He pointed to a man with blonde hair and cold blue eyes.

Quistis scoffed. "That's Seifer. Don't get to friendly, though. Just ignore him." She continued to talk to the rest of her friends, but he saw that Seifer was still approaching them. 

"Uh," he said again. Seifer stood right in front of them all. 

"Quistis," Seifer said, eyeing Davis up and down. He grabbed her arm. "I really need to talk to you." He pulled her out of the cafeteria and dragged her into a corner. "What are you thinking?" he said, angrily.

Quistis shrugged his grip off of her. "Uh, first of all, Seifer, don't touch me. Second of all, what the hell are you talking about?" She straightened her peach vest and glared at him.

"You know. This guy. You can't go trusting people that you just meet. It's a dangerous world and....."

Quistis began to laugh. "Hold on for a minute. Why the hell are you acting like you're my father or something? And are you trying to say that I can't take care of myself or something?" She looked up at him. 

Seifer didn't say anything, but looked at her sheepishly. "Well, you didn't prove that this morning," he mumbled incoherently. 

Quistis looked up at him wide-eyed. "What did you say? Did you just say what I thought you said?" She took a few steps away from him as realization dawned on her. "I can't believe this! You are really psycho, you know that!" she screamed. She shook uncontrollably. "Why in Hynes name would you _DO _something like that to me?" Quistis was red now and not to mention very angry. "Seifer, do you understand what you tried to do this morning?" 

Seifer looked to the ground ashamed. 

"You....almost....killed....me....." Quistis said, pronouncing every word as if she were talking to a child. "That is very much against the law and if I had a right mind, then I would turn you in to the Headmaster to get you kicked out of this school so you can never return." 

Seifer looked up now. "Quistis, I didn't mean to hurt you. I really didn't. I just wanted to...."

"To scare me into liking you?" Quistis asked furiously. "Seifer, I told you a million times that I don't like you. I never did and I never will. NEVER. I told you when you tried to give me those chocolates, and I told you when you sent the petunias. And this is the very last time I am going to tell you that I do not like you or will I ever think I will. Seifer, what you have been doing with sending things and all was real good-hearted and all. I understand, but when you go too far by trying to KILL me, then that's the last straw. Don't talk to me anymore, Seifer. I don't like you." Quistis looked at his hurt face without regrets. She needed to say this and now was the time. She turned to leave, but Seifer grabbed her arm. 

"Seifer!" Quistis exhaled. "I do not need you here in my life at this time. Don't you think that I was being nice by not turning you into the Headmaster? Don't screw it up by talking to me, then." 

Seifer cringed like a little kid and stared into her usual blue eyes which were now a burning red. "But Quistis. I just wanted to say that I was sorry. I never wanted to hurt you and I'll stop bothering you." 

Quistis nodded and turned to leave Seifer who was standing there like an abandoned puppy craving for love. 

When she got back to the lunch table, Davis looked at her concerned. "Is everything alright? He didn't try to..." 

"Everything's fine," Quistis interrupted irritably. She looked over at Davis. "I'm sorry. It's just that Seifer's real annoying and he doesn't know when to leave someone alone."

Davis nodded. "Yes, I know how that feels. Someone in Trabia used to stalk me too."

"Oh, really?" Quistis asked. "Who was it?" 

Davis shook his head and thought a little. "Just some crazed girl." Then he smiled at her. "Well, I think I have to be going. I have no more classes until later today and I'm gonna get some rest." Davis stood up tp leave. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked. He took her hand and kissed it gently. 

Quistis nodded, blushing and nearly melted at his touch. "Of course." 

A.N.: Tell me to continue or not, please. I have this sort of a plot in my mind, but I don't know if it's gonna be alright. We'll see depending on how many reviews I get or how many flames I get. I'll see where this is going. Thanks for reading, everyone.


	4. Chapter Four: Lies

Disclaimer: Yada yada yada. I don't even know if I have to disclaim this every time, but I don't want to get sued or anything by Squaresoft. Whatever. 

Irvine walked out of the cafeteria angrily. "I know that Davis has something to do with Selphie. I just don't know what." He strode through the lobby and saw one of Selphie's friends from the Disciplinary Committee walking around. "Hey, Amy!" he called. 

Amy turned around. "Oh, hi, Irvine. What can I do for you today?" She looked up at him almost as cheerful as Selphie. 

Irvine paced up to her. "Well, have you seen Selphie?" he asked. 

"Yeah. She said that she had to go and do this report or something and she was in a hurry."

Irvine cocked his head. "So you don't have a Disciplinary Committee meeting today?" _Why is she lying to me?_

Amy shook her head. "No. Our meeting are only on Tuesdays. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No," Irvine said. He looked around the Garden halls to see if he can catch a glimpse of Selphie. "Thanks anyways."

Amy nodded and walked away happily. 

__

What is going on? Irvine thought, trudging through the Garden aimlessly. _Why does she keep lying to me? Did she.....go out with this guy Davis or something? _Irvine looked up and he saw a glimpse of yellow and brown flash past. 

"Selphie!" Irvine called out. He chased the mix of colors. Then she stopped. She stood talking to someone with short brown hair. He looked harder and realized that it wasn't Selphie. She didn't even look remotely like Selphie. Irvine scowled at himself and turned to leave. 

He saw Selphie not too far behind him. Her back was turned and she was talking to someone, but he knew that it was her. "Selphie!" he called out once more. She turned around and turned bright red. 

"Oh, Irvine," she said. She nodded her head to one of her friends and strolled up to him. "Why aren't you at lunch with everybody else?" She twirled her hair nervously. 

Irvine disregarded what she said. "Why did you lie to me?" He looked sincerely hurt. 

Selphie looked down at her feet. "I didn't lie to you." she lied once again. "I thought that I had a meeting, but I forgot that we changed the meeting schedules to only Tuesdays." She looked up at him, hoping that he would believe her. 

Irvine looked at her skeptically. "Really?" he asked. 

Selphie nodded and nearly wanted to cry. She never wanted top hurt him, but she had to. 

"Well," Irvine said. He took her hand and began to lead her back to the cafeteria. "We can go back to lunch, then." He felt a resistance and he looked back at Selphie. She didn't budge. "What's wrong?" 

Selphie looked down at her feet once again. "Well, I'm not hungry and," she tried to think of something. "And I just want to spend the rest of the day with you." She looked back up at him. He looked skeptical, but a little happy at the same time. 

"Alright, then," he said. "What do you want to do?" 

Selphie thought for a moment. "You wanna go to the orphanage, or something?" 

Irvine looked at her shocked. "The orphanage? Why would you want to go there? It's already beat up and barely even standing."

Selphie shook her head. "I don't know why, but let's just go." 

Irvine stared at her a little longer and agreed with her. "Alright. We'll need the Rangranok, though. And we have to tell the Headmaster, but we'll need a good excuse."

Selphie shook her head. "No, let's just go. I need to talk to you anyways. About why I have been acting so weird."

__

You mean about why you have been lying? Irvine thought. _I can tell that you're still lying to me. I'm sure that you didn't forget that the Disciplinary Committee meetings were only on Tuesdays, and I know that you don't want to go back to the cafeteria because of Davis. But why? Something must have gone on in Trabia. And she better not lie again. _"Alright, but if we get caught, then we'll be in major trouble, you know that, right?" 

Selphie didn't answer, but instead dragged him towards the Rangranok. 

Quistis walked back to her dorm with a renewed lightness in her step. She never thought that she would meet someone like Davis, but she did. He was smart, intelligent, and funny too. _I am so lucky! _Quistis thought. _But why? You're not even going out with him, _the rational side of Quistis said. _ Well, I'll just have to change that. I just hope that he doesn't turn into another-_

Seifer!" Quistis breathed. He was leaning on her door waiting patiently. 

"Hi, Quistis," he said quietly. He stood up straight now. 

"Seifer," Quistis said warily. She pulled out her card key and swiped it. "Why are you here? Do you not remember what I told you in the cafeteria?" She stood in front of him, trying to signal that he was not invited in her room. 

"Yes," Seifer spat out. "I remember very clearly what you said in the cafeteria. But we still have to do that project for the Instructor. I just thought that we'd like to get started on it now." 

Quistis cursed to herself. She forgot about the project and she even forgot about being paired up with him. "Well, alright," she said. "I just have to get a few things." She walked into the dorm and he followed her. That wasn't something that she wanted. 

He sat down on one of her couches and put his feet on her coffee table. 

"Make yourself right at home," Quistis said, irritated. Some things never changed about him. She walked into her bed room and grabbed her book bag. She stuffed some things into it and zipped it up. "I'm coming, Seifer," she called out. She always thought it was rude to make people wait. She turned around and nearly bumped into something.....or someone. 

"Seifer!" Quistis shouted rather unnecessarily. She was just so startled that he was right there behind her. "Uh, let's go." She tried to brush pass him, but he blocked her way. "Excuse me," Quistis said lightly. His height startled her. He loomed over her like a giant. She was suddenly aware that she was in her bedroom with a stalker and that he could very well hurt her. 

She breathed a sigh of relief when he moved aside so she can pass. She practically ran out of her dorm. She closed her door when Seifer walked out and was about to lock it, but she felt another presence around them. She turned around and saw Davis standing not too far down the hallway. He had a confused look on his face as he saw Seifer walk out of her room. 

__

Great timing, Quistis thought angrily. _This is all Seifers fault. Why can't he just leave me alone like a normal person would? _ "Uh, hi Davis!" she called down the hall. She could feel Seifers glare on her back, but she ignored it. 

Davis slowly began to approach them. He seemed a little confused and scared. "Hi, Quistis. Hi, Seifer." 

Seifer just glared at him. 

"Uh," Davis said unsurely. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to get together later, Quistis," he said, "but I can see that you have to do something else." 

Quistis looked back at Seifer. "Oh, well, we have a project to do and.." 

Seifer interrupted her angrily. "Just go, Quistis." he said. "I'll start the project and you can finish it whenever." 

"Are you sure?" Quistis asked. As much as she hated to be around him, she didn't want to ditch him like that. 

Seifer was already down the hall.

"Wow," Davis said. "He seems really angry." 

Quisits nodded and felt sympathy towards him. _Wait, why am I feeling sorry for him? He almost killed me and he's officially a stalker now. _

Davis took her hand and Quistis forgot what she was thinking about. She tried to keep down a nervous fit of giggles as his warm hand engulfed hers. His touch was mesmerizing. "Where do you want to go?" Quistis asked. 

Davis looked in her eyes and pushed her back into her dorm. "Well, how about we stay right here?" 

A. N.: Well, here's the fourth chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it or whatever, and I'll try to get the next few chapters coming ASAP. Review, please. Thanks. 


	5. Chapter Five: Say my Name

Disclaimer: I know the drill....

__

Is this really happening? Quistis thought to herself. Davis had pushed her back into her room and kissed her. Gently at first, but as he led her closer and closer to the bed, his kiss intensified. His hands ran all over her body, feeling the outline of her curves. 

Quistis began to feel nervous. She never did anything like this before. Sure, she's kissed before, but that was when she was five. Now she was older and more things were likely to happen when two older people get intimate.

__

Maybe I should stop this. Quistis opened her eyes and was about to tell him to stop, but he surprised her by pushing her back on the bed, never breaking the kiss. He was heavy on her and she struggled to breathe correctly. This wasn't right at all. 

"Da-" Quistis started. She furrowed her eyebrows and struggled to push his heavier frame off of her. 

Davis just moaned and deepened the kiss. 

"Davis, STOP!" Quistis yelled once she broke the kiss. She put her hands on his shoulders and lifted his upper body enough so she could breathe. 

Davis looked down at her, confusion clearly written on his face. "What's wrong?" 

Quistis looked up at him. She felt really foolish. "Well, I don't think that-" 

Davis smiled softly. "I understand. It's alright. I just wanted to make you feel relaxed. You always seem so uptight....especially when Seifer is around." 

"Don't mention him," Quistis groaned, feeling the mood being lost. 

Davis looked at her. "Of course." Then he kissed her again. This time gently.   
Quistis liked this. It was much better than having him practically eat her face. 

Davis settled himself over her body more comfortably and looked into her eyes. "Hyne, Selphie. You're beautiful." He kissed her again. 

Quistis smiled to herself, then stopped. She pushed Davis' face off of hers. "What did you just say?" 

Davis looked at her as if nothing was wrong. "I said, Hyne, Quistis. You're beautiful."

Quistis pushed him off of her all the way now. "No, you didn't. You said 'Selphie'." She got off the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Davis laughed. "Selphie? Are you kidding? You know you're the only one for me." He patted the bed, indicating for her to come and sit next to him. 

She didn't move. 

"Davis, I'm not one of those stupid girls that always believe everything someone says when they know that their completely lying. I know what you said, and frankly it disgusts me. I thought that you were different from everyone else in this Garden. But you've proved me wrong and I would appreciate it if you left now." She pointed to the door and stared him right in the eye. 

Davis looked at her to see if she was going to suddenly change her mind. She didn't. Slowly, he stood up from the bed and walked to the door. He brushed past her, his eyes never leaving her face. He stared in them, as if daring her top say something else. 

She caught that look and felt a chill go up her spine. She didn't like the look he was giving. It was as if he really knew that this wasn't over. 

Irvine stared at Selphie from the pilot seat on the Ragnarok. She hadn't said a word since they took off. He was really worried about her, too. She just sat there, staring off in the sky, twirling her short hair. He didn't like it at all. 

"Selphie," Irvine said. "Something's wrong. I can tell by the way you've been acting." 

Selphie turned her head to look at him. "No, nothing's wrong. I have been a little stressed lately and I just needed to get out. All that Garden Festival stuff." She turned her head again to stare off in the sky. 

Irvine didn't say anything for a while. He just steered the Ragnarok closer to the orphanage. He didn't know why she wanted to go there either, but he needed to get her alone without any distractions. So he can really talk to her. 

"Selphie," Irvine said again. He put the Ragnarok in auto-pilot and turned to her. She didn't look at him. Irvine opened his mouth, but then he thought better of it and stared off into the sky the same way Selphie was.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the orphanage. Irvine landed the Ragnarok and took Selphies hand, leading her inside. Everything looked the same as it was the last time they were there. Deserted. Actually it did change, but for the worst. The ground had a huge crevasse near the basketball court and the colorful flowers in the field were wilted.

Selphies heart broke. This was Squall and Rinoas special place. She wondered how they would react if they found out it was practically dead. She didn't want to find out. 

"Let's go inside," Selphie said to Irvine. She tugged on his hand till he followed her into the small house they called their home for do many years. She walked around the building, trying to remember which was her room. Then she found it. It was at the very back of the house and it had a great view of the small beach. Selphie smiled, remembering. Then she felt Irvines presence close to her. She snapped out of her daze. He put his large hands on her shoulders and gently massaged them. Selphie smiled and felt safe for that split second. Then he released her shoulders, leaving Selphie feel a little disappointed. 

"Do you remember all those nights where we used to sneak out there to play with the fireworks?" Irvine asked. He beside her now, getting a better view of the filthy beach. 

"Of course," Selphie said evenly. She hugged herself, trying to get back in that safe place she called home many, many years ago.

They stood silent for a moment, feeling lost as the sun began to set. Then Selphie realized that this was the first sunset they have ever seen together. 

"Irvine," Selphie said. She was going to tell him what she was thinking, but he interrupted her. 

"Selphie, I think I know what this is about."

Selphie snapped her head towards him and visibly paled. 

Irvine saw that and got a deep feeling in his gut. If she was acting like this, then it must have been worse than he thought.

"You do?" Selhie squeaked. She put her hands down at her sides and fidgeted with them hem of her skirt.

Irvine nodded and sat down on the rusty bed. It squeaked horribly when his rested his weight on it. He winced at the sound. "Yes, I think I know. It has to do something with you back in Trabia." 

Selphie didn't say anything, but her heart sunk. He really did know. 

"And I'm guessing that it has to do with Davis."

Selphie held her head down. She didn't know what to say. 

"And-" Irvine started, but then he was pushed roughly back on the bed. He looked up. Selphie was standing over him....but not for long. She got on top of him. 

"Selphie," Irvine said. "What are you doing?" He didn't push her off. 

She didn't say anything, but slowly leaned down to kiss him lightly on the lips. So light that Irvine had to lean up to actually feel it. 

Irvine felt himself getting lost in the kiss, but then snapped his eyes open. "Selphie," he said, lifting her gently up. "Don't try to change the subject." 

Selphie just stared at him with the most solemn and serious eyes he had ever seen her with. It scared him to not see her with her usual carefree attitude. She looked like she was about to cry. 

Then she did.   
Her eyes welled up and she put her forehead down on Irvines chest. She hated to cry. Never in her life has she ever let anyone see her cry. 

Irvine looked at her in amazement. He was shocked that she was crying. Even though she is always in touch with her emotions, he had never seen her actually cry. "Selphie," Irvine said. "I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her slender back and kissed the top of her head. He took a shaky breath. "I didn't mean to make you cry." He really didn't. He would have rather killed himself than make her cry. 

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "No, Irvine. It's not that. It's just...." She put her head back down and seemed to debate what she was going to say. 

"It's just that," she continued not looking him in the eyes. "I love you so much. I have always loved you. And I never want to hurt you." She began sobbing again. 

Irvine took a deep breath, then lifted her head with his fingertips. She kept her eyes bowed. "Selphie," he said. He paused a moment. "I won't tell you this until you look at me."

Selphie reluctantly looked up into his dark mysterious eyes. They seemed to sparkle. Then she realized that he had tears in his eyes.

"You could never hurt me. The only way you could would be if you left me forever. And I am going to make sure that it never happens." 

A small tear fell from Selphies eyes, curving down her face until it fell to the ground. It left a small streak down her cheek. 

Irvine lifted his face and kissed the small trail of tears. He wanted this moment to last forever. The feel of her and him. Not physically, but emotionally. As his kisses reached her eyes, he could feel her shaking on top of him. Irvine managed to take his long brown trench coat off and wrap it around her shoulders. She snuggled closer to him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She could smell his cologne and breathed him in deeply. That smell. That was the smell she wanted to wake up to for the rest of her life. 

"Irvine," Selphie said. She lifted her head once again and stared at him in the eyes. Then she kissed him. "I love you." 

The sun went down.

"Hey, Quistis!" A voice called. 

Silence. 

"Quistis! Hey, come on, girl. Wake up!" 

Quistis stirred in her sleep. She could faintly hear someone calling her name. 

"QUISTIS!"

"Huh? What!" Quistis yelled. She sat straight up in her bed now. No one was there. 

"Quistis! Are you awake?" Then she realized that the voice was coming from the other side of the door. 

"Yeah," she said, groaning. She stood up and opened the door to face Rinoa. "What's up?" 

Rinoa just stared at her. "Well, for one your late. Xu covered you last class." 

Quistis glanced at her alarm clock. She forgot to set it. 

"Secondly, we can't find Irvine and Selphie. We have no idea where they went." 

Quistis nodded slightly. 

"And lastly.....well, I think you need to get ready first. Meet me in the library in fifteen minutes." Then she left. 

Quistis groaned. _Why does Rinoa always have to play these games?_ Quistis asked herself. She walked to the shower and undressed, putting the water on full blast. She didn't even wait to test the water before she jumped in. _I'm not Squall, _she continued to think. _She doesn't need to play charades to get something across to me._ Quistis pulled out her puff ball and poured shower gel onto it. She set it into a rich lather and scrubbed her body gently with it. Then she found herself thinking about Davis. He resembled Squall in a way. His spikey hair that seemed to go in every direction. His eyes. They weren't blue like Squalls, but they were like the sea. A greenish color that seemed to reflect everything around him. Quistis found herself thinking again. _He _is _incredibly hand- whoa, girl! Hold it right there! Didn't he just totally humiliate you last night? And now you're thinking of how handsome he is.....though he is good looking....there you go again! Just stop thinking now! Besides, you have to go meet Rinoa...._

Quistis let the water rinse the soap off her skin, then she stepped out of the shower. She quickly dried herself then put her clothes on. She towel dried her hair, then put it up in it's usual fashion. Satisfied, she grabbed her Save the Queen and walked out the door to meet Rinoa. 

"Selphie," Irvine whispered. He looked at the beauty sleeping next to him, hair tangled and wild. He shook her a little. "Selphie," She stirred in her sleep, then fluttered her eyes open. 

"Irvy," she groaned. Her throat sounded sleepy and she cleared it. "Is it morning already?"

Irvine nodded and kissed her forehead. "Yes. And we're late. I bet Cid is wondering where the Ragnarok is right about now." He sat up in the bed and pulled his clothes on, remembering the best night of his life. A small smile played at the corner of his lips as he looked at Selphie. She looked so innocent. The way she self-consciously kept her body covered as she dressed, though she more than willingly revealed herself to him during the night. It just reminded him about how much he loved her. 

"Are you....alright?" Irvine asked her, slightly embarrassed at what he was asking. 

Selphie looked at him and grinned a little sheepishly. "Yeah. I'll be fine." 

Irvine nodded and continued pulling on his clothes. He was happy now. He knew that everything was going to be fine.....but something was troubling him in the back of his mind. It bore through his head the whole night and even in his dreams.....she wasn't a virgin. 

"Hey, Rinoa," Quistis said as she entered the library. She was a little irritated, though. For some reason, everyone in the Garden had been staring at her when she walked through the halls. At first, she didn't regard it. She's used to it because of the way the Treppies always stare at her. But these other people weren't Treppies and that disturbed her. There was something different about the way they stared at her. 

"Hey," Rinoa said. She waited until Quistis sat down until she continued. 

"Well, first of all, I consider you my friend. We have been through some tough times in the past, but I don't hold a grudge."

Quistis just nodded. She didn't know where she was going with this. 

"And as a friend, I just wanted to know if it's true." 

Quistis waited for her to go on, but she didn't. She drew a blank. "I don't know what you're talking about," Quistis said. She stared at Rinoa. For some reason, she didn't like where this was going.

Rinoa clasped her hands together. She looked reluctant to say it. "Well, there's a rumor going around."

Quistis sat stiff now. Rumors were never good. 

"And, well, someone said that you slept with Davis Corodis in the Headmasters office."

A.N.: Hahahahaha. Sorry it took me so long to write the next chapter. I was going to discontinue it, but then I just thought of a good story line. Hope you enjoy it! Next chapter coming ASAP.


	6. Chapter Six: Suspended

Disclaimer: Yada, yada, yada....I just realized that I watch too much Seinfeld. 

Quistis stood up abruptly, knocking the chair backwards. "What!?" she screamed, ignoring the fact that they were sitting in the middle of the library. 

A few people glanced back to see what the commotion was, then they began to whisper furiously when they saw that it was Quistis. 

"Sssshhh!" Rinoa whispered. "So you're telling me that it's not true?" 

"Of course not!" Quistis said. She clenched her hands into fists, staring at Rinoa. For some reason, she didn't seem so assured. "It did not happen," Quistis said, punctuating every word so Rinoa could hear her correctly. 

Rinoa just nodded. "Yeah. Well, that's what he was telling everyone. He even had some details...and he showed everyone the.....the scars on his back from your whip." Rinoa peered up at Quistis from below her dark bangs. 

__

HUH??!!!! Quistis' mind spun with confusion. Never in her life had she been humiliated like this before. "Rinoa, how many times do I have to tell you," Quistis said. "It didn't happen. He must've just done it himself."

Rinoa still looked skeptical. "Ok. Well, I got to go now. I'll tell as many people as I can that it's not true." 

Quistis nodded as Rinoa left. Slowly, she picked up the turned over chair and sunk into it. She could feel peoples eyes on her still. She snapped her head around and stood up again. "It's not TRUE!" she screamed and ran out of the library. 

"And then," Davis continued. He was talking to some recently made friends about his little adventure the past night. He leaned in closer so they could hear better. 

All of a sudden, his door burst open. He turned around, slightly startled, but not completely. He knew what was going to happen. 

"Quistis," Davis said. He stood up and walked towards her. He placed a kiss on her mouth. 

Roughly, Quistis pulled away and pushed him against the wall. "You asshole," she said. She held his neck with her hands, squeezing lightly. "What the hell do you think you are doing? You spreading rumors about me? You have no right." 

Davis merely just chuckled. "Quistis, darling." He pushed her hands off of his neck and stood next to his friends. "Now, don't tell me that you're denying all that happened last night. You told me that you would never forget it." He laughed and so did his buddies. 

"Listen, Davis," Quistis said. "You better tell everyone the truth or I'll..." she didn't finish her sentence, but she did pull her whip out, threatening to strike at any moment. 

Davis smiled. "Whoa, watch where you're pointing that," he said. "Wouldn't want the same thing to happen last night happen again." 

His buddies rolled over laughing, slapping each other high fives. 

Quistis stood there, feeling humiliated. "Davis, if you don't tell everyone that it's not true, then I'm going to go to the Headmaster about this." She hated feeling like a snitch, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. 

"Quistis, dear. The Headmaster already knows about this. It's his office! And besides, even if he didn't know, you really wouldn't want to turn us in, would you?"

Quistis opened her mouth to respond, but then an announcement came over the speakers. _"Quistis Trepe, please report to the Headmasters office right away. I repeat. Quistis Trepe to the Headmasters office." _

Quistis glared at Davis. He stared back at her as cooly as possible. 

"This isn't over, Davis," Quistis said, then turned to leave. 

"I know," Davis muttered under his breath. "I'm gonna make sure that it's never over." 

"Irvy," Selphie said. She clung to him protectively as they walked back to the Ragnarok after the past night. In some ways she was happy that she slept with him. She knows that everyone always says that you don't have to sleep with someone to show how much you love them, but it felt like the right thing to do. Now she felt like she showed him that she loved him in every way possible. 

"Yes?" Irvine asked. His arms were wrapped around her bare shoulders and he peered down at her. She seemed so fragile. 

She opened her mouth to tell Irvine the truth. The truth about her and Davis. She already lied too much already and she didn't want to anymore. Besides, Irvine must have known by now. He must've already guessed what had happened. "Irvy, I-" She looked up at him again. Into those eyes that trusted her. She didn't want to see those eyes hurt. "I love you." She hugged him closer. 

"I love you too," he said, kissing the top of her head. He looked up at the large Ragnaork as they neared it. He had almost hoped that she would tell him the truth. She sounded as if she was going to, but then backed out. 

__

I don't care how long it takes, Irvine thought to himself, _I'm going to stick by her side until she does tell me the truth, even if it's days or years from now. _

"Quistis, take a seat." Headmaster Cid stood in front of his large desk, making sure that he didn't touch it. He seemed to have heard the rumors also. 

"Headmaster," Quistis started, leaning up in her chair. 

Cid held up his hand to silence her. "Let me speak first. I just want to make sure that I have all the facts before I go accusing anybody of something." 

Quistis settled back down in the soft leather. 

"Now," Cid said, pacing the room. "I have been informed of a recent rumor that has been going across the Garden. I am not one to believe rumors, but when this one involves me and some pretty hard evidence, I just don't know what to believe." 

__

Hard evidence? Quistis wondered. She quickly focused back on Cid. 

"Let me get this straight. Someone has told me that you and the new student at Balamb Garden, Davis Corodis, have had sexual relations in my office." Cid stopped pacing and looked at Quistis. She sat silently, but she was also very fidgety. 

"It didn't happen!" Quistis wailed. She was getting tired of everyone not believing her. This was Quistis. Reliable, shy, and never outgoing. Why would they believe this new guy over their trusted peer and friend? "And what do you mean by hard evidence?"

Cid tugged on his glasses a little. "Well, when I arrived at my office this morning, I found that it was trashed. Papers everywhere, the desk completely bare. I assumed that someone had either vandalized the room or had stolen something, but never this." 

"But I already told you!" Quistis said. 

"Of course," Cid replied. "However, previously this morning, I questioned Davis about this incident as well. And by what he told me and by what you told me, you two have very different stories." 

"That's because he started the rumors!" Quistis interrupted. 

"And," Cid said sharply, hating to be interrupted. "Davis has shown me some other hard evidence." Cid stopped pacing and faced her. "He showed me his back which was.....whipped?" 

Quistis paled. "But, Headmaster, I would never! Why won't anyone believe me? I didn't have sex with him!"

Cid nodded sympathetically. "I personally would like to believe you. You are my most trusted student here. But the Garden handbook says that anyone who is involved in sexual activities on the premises would automatically be expelled." 

"Expelled!" Quistis screamed. "I-I can't be expelled! I didn't even do anything." 

"But," Cid butted in. "I am only going to suspend you for two weeks. More than enough time to cool you down. The only reason I am giving you a lighter sentence than expulsion is because I believe you. I would believe you over him, anyways. But for now, you are on leave for two weeks while I further investigate this rumor. You can not come in contact with the Garden at any time or I will be forced to expel you immediately, understood?"

Quistis nodded. "Thank you, Headmaster. I'm sure everything will come together very soon." 

"Geez," Selphie said once they got back at the Garden. There seemed to be a commotion since they had recently left. "What's going on? Almost everything I hear now has Quistis' name in it..." Selphie gulped a little. She had a feeling that she knew why too. 

"Uh, Irvy," Selphie said. "I'm gonna go find Quistis now. I have to talk to her about something." 

Irvine nodded and kissed her on the lips, lingering for a minute. "Alright. I'll see you later, then." 

Selphie smiled, then turned to leave. Her smile disappeared once she turned her back to Irvine. 

__

Now to find Quistis. 

"That damn Davis," Quistis muttered, packing a few things. She was going to stay in town since she couldn't stay at the Garden anymore. She just hoped that she had enough gil for two weeks at a hotel and for food. 

"I have to get him back somehow. I have to find some things on him and why he left Trabia." Quistis stopped. "Maybe I can ask Selphie." 

Grabbing her suitcase, she walked out of her dorm, locking it behind her and walked off to find Selphie. 

"Quistis?" Selphie asked. She knocked on her door, but there was no answer. She had no idea where she could be. Then she saw Seifer walk down the hall. "Seifer!" Selphie yelled. She found herself wondering what he was doing in the girls dorm, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind. "Seifer!" she yelled again. He didn't seem to hear her the first time. 

Seifer spun around. "What is it, Selphie?" he asked, sounding irritated as usual. He walked towards her briskly. 

"Have you seen Quistis? I need to talk to her and I can't find her." 

Seifer scoffed. "Quistis? She's probably with Daivs. Last I heard, they got pretty hot and heavy in the Headmasters office last night." 

Selphie gasped. 

"You mean you haven't heard?" Seifer asked, astounded. He was almost sure that everyone in the whole Garden had heard about it. 

"No," Selphie said. "Tell me." 

"Irvine!" 

Irvine turned around at his name being called. Quistis was running towards him. 

"Hi, Quistis," he said. When she got closer, he noticed her suitcase. "You goin' on a trip or somethin'?"

Quistis groaned. "Something like that. But now I really need to talk to Selphie. Do you know where she's at?"

Irvine narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. She said that she needed to go talk to you. You mean that you didn't see her?" 

Quistis shook her head. "No. I was in my dorm for the past half an hour and she didn't stop by. Do you know where she's at now?" 

Irvine shook his head slowly. "No."

Quistis slumped her shoulders. "Listen, if you see her, can you please tell her that I need to see her right away? Tell her that I'm staying at the Balamb Hotel room number 16." 

Irvine nodded. "Alright." 

Quistis turned to leave. 

"Quistis!" Irvine called. "Why are you staying at the Balamb Hotel? What's wrong with your room?" 

Quistis groaned. :Just ask Davis. Better yet, anyone in the Garden. But now I gotta go. Bye!" 

Irvine nodded and thought of Selphie. Why would she lie to him like that? Especially after they showed each other how much they loved each other. Why would she lie and say she was going to meet Quistis, but never go see her. For some reason, all fingers pointed to Davis. 

A.N.: Like it? Tell me how much you like it by leaving a review. Hint, hint. ;)


	7. Chapter Seven: A Lost Love

Disclaimer: .......I'm really tired of saying this every time I write a new chapter or a new story. 

A.N.: This fics a little more about Selphie and Irvine. As a matter of fact, it barely even mentions Quistis in it. 

"What?" Selphie asked, hearing the story about Quistis for the first time. "Well, she didn't.....did she?" 

Seifer shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But Davis sure went through a lot of trouble in making it seem real."

Selphie leaned against the wall. "Geez. Thanks for letting me know, Seifer," Selphie said. 

Seifer nodded and left. 

__

It's happening all over again, Selphie thought. _Except it's happening to one of my best friends. I have to find Davis. _

Irvine paced his dorm for a while, thinking of Selphie. _I need some answers. And I need them now. But I can't talk to Selphie. She won't tell me anything anymore. I need to find Davis. _

Irvine grabbed his gun and strode out of his room. 

"Ah, the feeling of getting one of the most respected adults in the Garden suspended," Davis said. He grabbed a shirt and folded it, placing it into his suitcase. "Even if I had to get suspended with her. But it doesn't matter. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Davis grabbed a pair of socks and balled them up, throwing them in along with his other belongings. He needed to stay somewhere, but he was new to Balamb, so he didn't know where to go. 

"Now," Davis said to himself, trying to organize his thoughts. There was a loud rap on the door. 

Davis chuckled to himself. _Probably ol' Quistis coming back for more. _"Coming," Daivs said. He took three long strides and opened the door. To his surprise, it was Selphie. 

"Selphie!" Davis gasped. He hadn't seem her since Trabia. He knew that she transferred, but he hadn't actually seen her yet. 

"That's right!" Selphie said. She walked in and pushed Davis. He stumbled backwards until he reached the edge of his bed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She continued. "Traveling from Garden to Garden ruining peoples lives? You ruined mine and now you're ruining Quistis'." Selphie pushed him back so he fell on the bed. "And I'm going to make sure that you don't ruin anyone else's." 

Davis chuckled. "Oh, Selphie. What are you talking about? I just merely told one person the truth. It's not my fault that they have a big mouth and they go spreading the word around to everyone. The same thing happened in your case. I told someone the truth and they spread it around. It's not my fault that you couldn't take the humiliation. Someone should have taught you how to take criticism better." Davis folded his hands over his head, staring at her defiantly. 

Selphie cringed. "What you told people was not the truth. You told them lies."

Davis shook his head. "No I didn't. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've come here asking for more." He patted the bed. "Why don't you sit over here? It could be just like old times." 

Selphie whipped out her Strange Vision. She leaned over him and held it up to his neck. 

Davis squirmed under her hold. It was a little too close for comfort and he knew very well what she could do with her weapon. 

"What's wrong, Davis?" Selphie asked. "You seem a little.....scared." 

Davis took a breath and merely smiled. "Not at all. As a matter of fact, I'm feeling better already."

Selphie furrowed her eye brows. She didn't like the way he said that. He seemed to...calm about it.

Then she heard a noise behind her. She stood back up and spun around. Irvine stood by the doorway in total shock. 

"Irvy," Selphie said. She took a step towards him. 

"Don't even Selphie," Irvine said coldly, glaring up at her from under his hat. "I have taken your lies long enough. It's over." Irvine turned on his heel and walked briskly away. 

"Irvine!" Selphie wailed. 

"So young, so naive," Davis said. 

"Shut up!" Selphie screamed and swiped him with her Strange Vision. It hit him in the side, tearing his shirt. She turned and chased after Irvine, praying to Hyne that he would listen to her. 

"I can't believe it," Irvine said to himself. He scoffed. "Well, that's what I get. I trusted her too much and I kept ignoring the fact that she had been lying to me. I thought that if I waited long enough, she would tell me what was wrong." Irvine shook his head. "What a fool. Well not anymore. I've learned my lesson." 

Irvine stood up. He looked at the beautiful sky. The sun was shining radiantly into the Garden, giving everyone a sense of hope. All except him. All his hope left when he saw Selphie on top of Davis, most likely kissing. 

He looked down at everyone in the Garden from the secret area in the Training Center. Everyone looked so happy. Walking with their friends and their boyfriends. He knew that Selphie and him looked like that once probably. So carefree and happy. So in love with each other. 

"Oh well," Irvine said, leaning over the balcony. He saw how high it was and sighed. "I hope this doesn't hurt too much."

"Irvine!" Selphie said. She ran to his dorm but found that he wasn't there. She ran almost everywhere. To the library, one of their most favorite places to be together, to the cafeteria and even to the infirmary. He wasn't anywhere to be found. 

"Has anyone seen Irvine!" She yelled into the Quad. Everyone looked up at her as if she were crazy, but no one said anything. "What's wrong with you people?" Selphie screamed and ran back out of the Quad. She stood in the middle of the Garden, looking around at everyone to see if she spotted a brown trench coat. 

"Irvine!" She said happily. She saw a figure walking out of the Garden with a brown trench coat on. She grabbed his shoulder and tuned him around. 

"Irvy, I've been," she stopped when she saw that it wasn't him. It didn't even look remotely like him. He didn't even have a hat on. 

"Sorry," Selphie said to the man as he walked off. She could feel herself begin to lose control. She breathed hard and buried her face in her hands. "Where could he be? I looked everywhere. The cafeteria, the infirmary, the library. I looked in the Training Center too. Where could he....?" Selphie took her face out of her hands and ran full speed, ignoring the burning in her chest to the one place where she didn't look. The Secret Area.

"Soon," Irvine said standing fully on the ledge now. "Soon it'll all be over." He stared down at the welcoming cement and closed his eyes. 

"Irvine!" Selphie yelled, running into the Training Center. She ran past the incoming monsters, escaping from every battle that she came into. If she didn't find Irvine here, she didn't know where else to look. She just knew that she had to tell him the truth. No more lies. 

Faintly, Irvine could hear Selphie in the Training Center. She was screaming his name hysterically. He just ignored her and continued to pray to Hyne that the pain would end soon. That he would be in a better place where he couldn't hurt anymore. 

"Irvine!" Selphie yelled. She opened the door to the Secret Area and she saw that he was standing over the ledge. She gasped with realization. "Irvine, no! Don't do it!" She took a step towards him, but feared that he would jump off if she came any closer. "Irvine, it was all a misunderstanding. Nothing at all happened. I just had to talk to him." 

Irvine didn't say anything. He just stared off in the sky. 

"Irvine, you are the only person that I love," Selphie said. "And I guess that I have been lying to you, but it's because that I never wanted to hurt you. Something did happen back in Trabia, but.." Selphie took a step towards him. He swayed on the ledge as if warning her to stay back. "No!" Selphie cried out, scared that he was going to fall. "Please Irvine, you have to listen to me." Selphies body convulsed with sobs as she tried to get her story out. He needed to hear her. She needed to tell him this. 

"Irvine, what Davis did to me back in Trabia," Selphie started. 

All of a sudden a large T-Rexuar came up from behind her, roaring with ferocity. He brought his head down and took her into his enormous mouth, saliva dripping everywhere. 

Selphie screamed in agony and in shock as the pain seared through her entire body. The T-Rexuar dragged her off deeper into the Training Center.

"Selphie!" Irvine yelled. He had snapped out of his daze and turned around. He hopped off the ledge, back on solid ground and chased the beast. He stood by the entrance and looked around. The T-Rexuar was fast. He was already somewhere deep in the bushes with Selphie. Irvine could hear the deep growl of the dinosaur somewhere towards the front of the Center. Irvine jumped into action and ran towards the front, hoping that he wasn't too late. 

"AAAGGGHHH!!!" Selphie screamed as the dinosaur bit deeper into her side. She tried her best to ignore all the pain, but she couldn't help it. The pain was unbearable. Searching her mind, she looked for a full cure spell. She found it and she began to chant. She concentrated her best, but she could feel herself loose consciousness slowly. She forced herself to stay focused and awake, but the darkness overcame her and she fell limp in the monsters mouth. 

"Selphie!" Irvine screamed frantically. He heard her deafly scream and knew that he was closer, but he also knew that he only had a little bit of time to save her. He ran through the bushes, pushing them out of his way as he ran. 

"I need to get to her," Irvine said. "Hyne, please let me get there on time. Please let her be ok when I find her." He then found himself in a clearing. He could see the T-Rexuar in full view now. His back was turned to him and he was leaning over something. 

Selphie. 

Irvine could see her now. She laid on the ground in a mangle, her arms and her legs twisted in a deathly position. She had her eyes open just barely and he could see that she was crying hard which made the blood force itself out more. 

Irvine could feel his veins pulse with rage. He began to breathe hard and his heart began to race faster. He clenched and unclenched his hands, barely even noticing that he dug his nails in deep enough to cause them to bleed. A sort of eerie glow began to emanate off of him, making the Training Center grow dark. He closed his eyes and a blood red tear streaked down his face. He could feel his heart race like the wind, skipping beats in the process. He looked up at the T-Rexuar. Rage had colored his eyes red as he pounced at the beast. As if in slow motion, he pulled out his gun, loading it with ammo. He glanced at the ammo and noticed that it was deep red. He loaded it anyways and closed his eyes. He could see Selphie smile at him the same way she always did when she said that she loved him. He pulled the trigger. The gun fired one bullet and hit the fiend. The T-Rexuar stood straight up now. He looked at his side and howled in pain as he realized that he had been shot. The bullet seemed to eat away at the beasts rough hide, turning him inside out. The skin was the first thing to go, then next his muscle tissue. Then the bullet began to eat away at his bones. Then at his brain and heart. There was nothing left behind. 

"Irvy," Selphie whispered. She coughed and blood began to pour out from her mouth. 

Irvine ran to her side and lifted her head gingerly, careful not to hurt her anymore than she already was. "Sefie," Irvine said. "You-you'll be ok." 

Selphie looked up at him and shook her head. "No," she whispered. She looked up at him and felt herself begin to lose herself. She could feel something inside of her tell her to let go. That it was time for her to go. 

"Don't go," Irvine cried. He put his head next to hers and kissed her bloody lips. "You can't leave me. I love you." He put his head down on her chest. 

Selphie forced herself to stay awake long enough for her to tell him that she loved him. "Irvy, I have to tell you...."

Irvine held her hand and put it up to his face. "Don't say anything. I already know."

Selphie looked up at him. Darkness began to form around his face. "I love you," she whispered. The strain on her voice made her cough up blood once more. She wheezed for air and closed her eyes. There was just too much strain on her body. She just wanted it all to go away. She just wanted all the pain to go away.....

"Selphie," Irvine said after a minute with her in his arms. He already knew that she was dead, but he didn't want to believe it. "Selphie," he repeated. He lifted his body off of hers and looked down at her face. She seemed so peaceful. Her eyes were closed and she had a half smile on her pale face. 

"No," Irvine sobbed. He put his hand over his mouth and pushed back down on the wave of nausea which threatened to give way at any time. Deep down inside, he knew that he killed Selphie. If she hadn't come to the Training Center, she would not be....

"Damn, you, Hyne!" He yelled. "Damn you!" Irvine began o sob again, but knew that he had to take her somewhere. Anywhere. He stood up and lifted Selphies limp body off the ground. He decided to take her to the infirmary though he knew very well that both he and she couldn't be helped in any way. 

A.N: AAAWWWWW!!!!!! I didn't want the story to be like this, but I thought of all the alternate endings and this seemed like the better one. Besides, I had to keep the level of interest up. Ah, anyways, review please. I know I'm going to get a lot of flames for killing Selphie. Bring it on. 

Next Chapter coming soon. 


	8. Chapter 8: Questions Answered

Disclaimer: I'm tired of sayin it. 

A.N.: Oh yeah, in the last chapter, I got a review that asked why he didn't carry any pheonix downs. I never really thought of that. I was completely absorbed in writing it that I forgot that they carry things that could bring people back to life. Well, that's one of the reasons, but the main reason is because I just wanted her to die so the story could become a little more interesting in later chapters. 

"Where's Selphie?" Quistis asked herself, pacing the hotel floor. She told Irvine to tell Selphie to meet her at Balamb hotel. A day had passed and she still didn't show up. What was taking her so long? "Maybe she's just not coming. Well, I can't wait any longer. I'm just gonna have to do this myself." She went into the bathroom and put on a new outfit that she had way back in her closet. She hadn't seen it since the day she bought it, thinking that it was too flashy for her taste. Quistis looked at herself in the mirror and made a face. She didn't necessarily like it, but it would have to do. Sighing, she strode to her nightstand and took her Save the Queen. Then she stopped. "I'm going to need a car, too," she murmured. She never really thought of getting a car when she was calculating up all the money she had. If she rented a car, that would really cut down on her food expenses. "Oh well," she said. "I'm just gonna have to not eat for a few days." She grabbed an extra pack of gil out of her usual outfit and walked out the door, locking it behind her. She turned to leave, but then spotted a man not too far away. He had his back turned to her and was struggling to drag a few suitcases up the stairs. Quistis was just about to ask if she could help, but then he turned his face slightly so she can see his profile. 

__

He looks a little familiar, Quistis thought. She squinted her eyes to see a little better. _Hmmm....brown hair that's sort of spikey, I can't see his eyes, but I can tell he has a tan.....Oh, Hyne. It's Davis!!!_

Quistis pulled out her card key and swiped the door and jumped in before he could see her. 

"Oh, GREAT!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Now I have to deal with him here, too. From now on, I'm going to be sneaking around everywhere I go. Damn!" Quistis put her ear against her door and listen to hear if he had already gone in his room yet. She could still hear him groaning and straining. "You're taking too long," Quistis sing-sang to herself. She tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. After a minute, she put her head against the door again. She couldn't hear anything. Thinking that he was gone, she put her hand on the door knob and turned it slowly. She peeked her head out and saw him standing right there! 

__

Shit! Quistis closed the door quickly with a bang and stood up. She waited a second to see if he noticed her. 

Then there was a knock at her door. 

Quistis held her breath. "Damn!" She whispered to herself. She backed away from the door a little. 

"Room service!" a lady shouted through the wood. Quistis sighed. Now she'd have to open the door. She waited a moment to see of the lady moved on. 

"Room service!" The lady repeated impatiently. 

"Uh, just leave it outside my door!" She called out. She crossed her arms and waited. The lady didn't say anything else, but Quistis could hear her feet shuffling down the hallway. 

Sighing, she walked towards the door, praying that Davis was not around. She looked through the eye hole, but it didn't prove efficient. She could only see things in front of her, not to the side. 

Carefully, she opened the door once again. She held her breath and glanced around. He wasn't anywhere to be found. 

Quistis walked out now, practically running past his door. When she reached the stairs, she sighed in relief. She didn't get caught. Nervously, she walked down the stairs, imagining at any moment he would burst out of his room to find her. Thankfully, he didn't. 

"Oh, thank you very much. Can you bring it to my room later on today?"

Quistis snapped her head at the voice. It was Davis and he was in the lobby. 

Frantically, she searched for a place to hide. She ran to a nearby counter and turned her back to him, praying that he didn't recognize her. She could hear his footsteps towards the steps. She heard him climbing up, then stop. 

__

He saw me! Quistis thought. Without saying a word or even turning her head, Quistis walked away from the counter and out the door, her heart racing the whole time. She tilted her head to the right a little to see if he had come after her. He didn't. 

Quistis let out her breath which she hadn't realized she had been holding until a burning pain began to form in her chest. 

To be on the safe side, she ran to the Rent-a-Car, never looking back. 

"Oh Hyne," Dr. Kadowaki whispered as she saw Irvine walk in her office with a limp Selphie in his arms. "Oh, Hyne," she repeated. She sat down in her chair, fearing that she would have fallen if she didn't. 

Irvine placed Selphie on the examining table and sat down next to her body, leaning his head down in his hands. He didn't move. 

"Irvine," Dr. Kadowaki soothed. "She-" 

"I already know," Irvine said a little loudly. He looked up at her, his eyes red and tired. "She died in my arms. I could have helped her, but I was-I was too late." Irvine bowed his head again next to Selphie. 

Dr. Kadowaki walked next to Irvine and held him in her arms. "Come on Irvine." she murmured. "Let's go talk to the-"

"No!" Irvine protested. He shook the doctor off and stayed next to Selphie. "I won't go. I won't leave her. Not again." He put his head down on her stomach, ignoring the fact that it was saturated with blood. 

Dr. Kadowaki nodded. "Alright. You stay here. I'm going to go get the Headmaster." She grabbed her keys and walked out the infirmary, locking the door behind her so people couldn't get in and so Irvine couldn't get out. 

When she walked through the hall ways, she saw that there was already a commotion. She could tell that people had already seen Irvine carrying a dead Selphie. Some people were crying and some were holding each other. 

When everyone saw her, they all rushed towards her, yelling out questions. 

"Is Selphie dead?" Some one asked. Then it was followed by a "Can we see her?" Then by "How's Irvine?" 

The Doctor just walked past them, not answering a single question. It was the Headmasters job to do that. 

"Oh, no," Headmaster Cid whispered as Dr. Kadowaki told him what happened. "Oh, no." Cid gripped his leather chair tightly and held hid fist to his mouth. He looked at the ground for the longest time, trying to think. 

After a moment, he looked up at the doctor. "She was like a daughter to me and Matron. She was really Matrons children, but in a way they were my own. I just can't-" Cid broke down and began to sob into his hands. He thanked Hyne that Matron was not here to hear this. She went on a trip after the Time Compression to try and get things sorted out. She would have literally died if she had heard about this. 

Dr. Kadowaki just stood there. She didn't know what to do just as much as Cid did. Never in their career as a Garden has a person died. They really weren't prepared for this kind of tragedy. 

"Um," Cid said, breaking the silence. "I'll....I'll make an announcement. No, I'll have an assembly. Yes. An assembly." He seemed to be talking to himself as he said this. He looked at the ceiling. 

"Yes, Headmaster," Dr. Kadowaki said, walking out of his office to go check up on Irvine. 

Quistis put the car in park as she reached her destination. She got out and looked at the Garden. Trabia Garden. It had been bombed during their mission a year ago, but it was re-built now. It looked even better than it did before it was bombed. 

Qusitis walked in the Garden, ignoring the stares that she received from people. She knew that people were probably curious about why Quistis Trepe was at their Garden especially after the bombing. In a way, they blamed Balamb Garden for not preventing it. 

She walked up to a girl who hadn't been staring and seemed friendly enough. "Excuse me," Quistis said. 

The girl turned around. "Yes?" 

Quistis cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you knew a boy that used to come here. His name is Davis Corodis." 

The girls eyes darkened at that name. "Davis Corodis? Why do you ask about him?" 

"So you know him?" Quistis asked. 

The girl nodded. "Yes. Well, actually a friend of mine knew him. Her name is Selphie Tilmitt. They knew each other quite well."

Quistis was surprised to hear this. "Oh really? Why do you say it like it was a bad thing?" 

The girl paused and turned to her other friend who she said she would meet up with later. Then she turned back to Quistis. "Let's sit down. It's sort of a long story." 

Quistis nodded and followed the girl to a nearby bench. 

"Well first off, Davis Corodis transferred here a few years ago from another Garden. Galbadia Garden to be exact. When he first got here, every girl was over him. He was charming, handsome and he seemed to be a pretty nice guy."   
Quistis nodded. That was the same exact thing she had thought when she first saw him. 

"Well," the girl continued, "Selphie, being one of the nicest girls in the Garden, introduced herself to him and offered to give him a tour of the Garden. Selphie wasn't one to swoon over guys a lot like the rest of us at the Garden, so no one really thought a romance would develop. But after a few days with him, Selphie claimed that she was in love." The girl paused to wave at an ongoing peer. Then she continued. "Well, that surprised us a lot. She always believed that love at first sight was not real. That you had to earn someone's love, but when she said she loved him, we all believed that it was real." The girl paused once again to cough. 

Quistis nodded, trying to absorb everything the girl was saying. 

"And well, after he had been here a week, a rumor began to go around that Selphie slept with him."

Quistis gasped. "Really? I mean, did she really sleep with him?" 

"No!" The girl shouted. "We all knew that Selphie wouldn't do that. Especially with her morals and all. Anyways, she began to act all weird after the rumors started. She wouldn't leave her dorm because of all of the jerks in the Garden and she wouldn't eat for a while. Me and a few of my friends decided to do something about it. We sneaked into Davis' room and we found a book of his. It was sort of a journal, but he kept other things in there. He had a picture of every girl he went out with and how he ruined their lives. I guess he thought it was some kind of sport. Well, after reading about Selphie, he wrote in there that he had raped her." 

Quistis covered her mouth. This was unexpected. She didn't think that one of her friends could ever be raped. "Well what happened after?" She asked. 

"Well, Selphie couldn't deal with her life anymore so she transferred. Even after we exposed him to the Headmaster. Davis would continue to come here and she said that she couldn't handle seeing him or anyone else in the Garden. Then a few days ago, Davis transferred to another Garden."

"Do you know if Selphie ever filed a complaint? Did she get a file written against him?" 

The girl seemed to think a moment. "Well, I don't really know. She didn't mention anything about it to me. Tell you what. My friend works in the office and I'm sure that she'll see if she can find something for you." 

Quistis smiled. "Thank you. And by the way, I never got to ask you your name."

The girl looked at her and smiled back. "Just call me Amy."

"Ok, here you go," Amy's friend said to Quistis. She handed her a file on Davis Corodis. It was pretty thick. 

"Thanks," Quistis said. She at a table and opened the file. There was a school picture of him in it. He looked so happy and so innocent. No one would ever guess that he could ruin someone's life. Next to his name were a list of the schools that he has ever been to. It was a long list. Other than Balamb, Trabia and Galbadia, there were four more schools on the list. Some of which she never heard of. 

She took out a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote the list down. Then she looked through the rest of the packet, trying to find what she was looking for. She flipped through some papers, skimming through them. Then she found what she was looking for. It was a yellow sheet of paper that had everything she needed to know on it. 

"Um," she said to the girl. She didn't know her name yet. 

The girl turned around. "Yes?" 

"Can you make a copy of this?" Quistis asked handing the paper to her. 

"Sure," she said happily and went to the copier. She put it in and after a few seconds, she handed her the copy. "Here ya go." She gave the paper to Quistis and smiled. 

"Thanks," Quistis said. She found what she was looking for here, but she still wasn't quite done with her mission. 

"Well, I better be going now," Quistis said to Amy and her friend. She folded the paper and put it in her pocket. 

"Bye, Quistis," Amy said. She waved as Quistis left. "Remember, you have friends here!"

"I'll come visit," Quistis said back to them. "Bye!" 

Then she got in her car and went off to Galbadia. 

"Would the following students please report to the headmasters office. Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, Seifer Almasy, and Rinoa Heartily. I repeat. Would Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, Seifer Almasy, and Rinoa Heartily please report to the Headmasters office. Thank you."

Cid stood up straight now. He didn't know how he was going to tell them the news once they all got there. The news really hadn't sunk in for him yet. He still felt as if Selphie was going to pop up in his office all happy and alive. 

Cid leaned against his desk and sighed. He hates moments like these...

"Headmaster?" Squall asked, opening the door slightly. He peeked in to make sure that he was welcome. 

"Come in, come in," Cid said. He walked towards Squall and gave him a hug as he walked in. Squall found this a little weird coming from his Headmaster. He shifted uncomfortably. 

Rinoa followed him closely, then Zell and finally Seifer. They each got a hug from Cid as they walked in which made them even more suspicious. 

"Take a seat all of you," Cid remarked. They all did. Cid, however paced the floor as always. 

"Well," he started. "There has been a deep tragedy among the Garden." He paused and cleared his throat, becoming a little choked up. 

Squall, alarmed, stood up. "What is it?" 

Cid looked at him. "Please sit down. I have no idea how to tell you all this without causing a commotion. Please. It's already hard on me." Cid sat down in his chair now, cupping his forehead in his hands. 

Squall slowly sat down, feeling more and more confused. 

"Well, one of your comrades have.....they have fallen in a battle." 

Rinoa gasped and looked at Squall who turned pale. Seifer just stared at Cid, waiting for him to spill it out and Zell sat with his hands clenched into fists. 

__

Where is Irvine? Squall asked himself. _Is he the one....? Or what about Quistis? Oh, yeah. She got suspended. ........Selphie? _

"I'm sorry, everyone, but Selphie is dead." 

"What!" Zell exclaimed. He stood up abruptly, causing the chair to fall backwards. His knuckles were white from squeezing too hard. 

Rinoa gasped and grabbed Squalls hand. She buried her face in Squalls shoulder and tried to keep her sobs under control, but it was no use. Her whole body was shaking even when Squall held her tightly.

Seifer sat up in his chair, pale as anything. He didn't say anything and he didn't have to. Everything he thought was there on his face. And he had just seen her less than twenty four hours ago. 

Squall cleared his throat. "How-how did it happen?" 

Cid sat back in his chair. "Dr. Kadowaki is talking to Irvine right now, but it seemed to have happened in the Training Center. From the looks of it, she was killed by a T-Rexuar."

Squall paled and continued to hold Rinoa. She didn't stop crying. 

"What about Irvine?" Seifer spoke up. "How's he?"

Cid shook his head. "I don't know how he is now, but the Doctor said that he was devastated when she came to talk to me last." 

Seifer nodded then dropped his eyes to the floor. 

There was a long silence. Then Cid spoke up again. "We will be holding an assembly as soon as we can find Quistis and Davis. Quistis said that she was going to be staying at the Balamb Hotel, but there is no answer on the phone. We are still waiting to find her."

POW!

"What the-?" 

Quistis lost control of the car for a second. She gripped the steering wheel tighter and struggled to get it under control. When she did, she stopped the car and put it in park, getting out of the car. 

"Shit!" Quistis breathed. Her car had a flat tire. It must've blown because of all the sharp rocks that were lying across the desert land. She kicked the tire, knowing very well that it wouldn't help. 

"What am I going to do?" Quistis asked herself. "I don't feel like walking around for hours fighting every creature that jumps out at me." She walked to the trunk and opened it up. It had a crowbar and a spare tire, but what it didn't have was a manual. She didn't know the first thing about changing a tire. She had never even _seen_ a person change a tire. 

"It can't be that hard," Quistis said to herself. She grabbed the crowbar and walked around the car to the chunk of rubber that used to be her tire. 

She set the tool down and walked back to the trunk, grabbing the smaller tire. She groaned as she lifted it and she set it next to the crowbar. She looked at her hands and saw that they were greasy. She cringed as the grease dribbled down her hands.

"Gross," she muttered. She wiped her hands on her outfit. "Now what?" she asked herself, looking around. She didn't know what else to do. She looked at the tool, then at the car. "I guess I have to walk to Galbadia." 

"Thank Hyne I am finally here!" Quistis said to herself, smiling and wiping her sweaty forehead off with her hands. She trudged slowly into the Garden, feeling the cold air that surrounded her. "Thank Hyne for air conditioning, too," she said to herself. 

As she walked through the Garden, she ignored everyone's stares. She knew she must've looked a wreck, but she didn't really care. All she wanted now was a place to sit down. She had been walking for days it seemed. She desperately wanted a shower and needed one by the way she smelled. 

"Hi," Quistis said to the first person she saw walk past her. It was a guy much older then her, so she suspected that he would know Davis from previous years at the Garden. 

The man turned around slowly. "Um, hi. Can I help you?" He looked at her as if she were a crazy woman.

Quistis nodded and walked him to a seat. "Yes you can. I am Quistis Trepe. What's your name?"

"Simon Peters," he said reluctantly. 

Quistis nodded. "Well, I'm from Balamb Garden. I have come to find out as much information as I can about a young man that used to come here a few years ago named Davis Corodis. Do you know anything about him?" 

The man looked at her and smiled. "Davis? Oh yeah, I know him. How's he been doing?" 

"Fine," Quistis said. She was about to continue, but she was interrupted by him. 

"So he's at Balamb now? It seems like forever since I last talked to him." He leaned back as if reminiscing to himself. 

"Right," Quistis said. "Now, what do you know about him?"

"Well, everything. He was one of my best bud for years. We went to pre-school together and then he moved, then he came back to Galbadia and went to school here for two years. Then he transferred after that." 

Quistis leaned forward, interested in this. "Why did he transfer? Is there any specific reason why he left?" 

Simon looked at her. "Yes, there is as a matter of fact. But why do you want to know?" 

Quistis searched her mind. "Just curious. I know him well and he said that if I ever visit Galbadia to tell Simon he said hi. Now what a coincidence. Here you are. He also told me to mention to you about the big thing he did here. He said that you'd know instantly what he was talking about." Quistis hit herself over the head, realizing what she said was the dumbest thing in her life. Still she waited to see if he bought it. 

He did.

"Oh. Yes, I know what you're talking about. Well it's a long story. You think you're up to it?" 

Quistis nodded and leaned forward. "Definitely."

"Well it all started back a few years ago. When Davis first transferred here, he was a big hit with the ladies. Much like I was. Anyways, he held an interest in this one girl here who was one of the most known for her academic and social popularity. They hit it off instantly. Anyways, they went out in what seemed to be a good relationship. Then one day, rumors began to develop. Somebody said that they had sex in a church." 

Quistis sat back up in her chair. A pattern was beginning to form. 

"And she was devastated. She dropped out short while before he left so she can start a new life. Her name is Carrie and she lives not too far from here."

Quistis nodded. "Thanks. But I have a question. Were the rumors true?" 

Simon grinned. "That's for Davis to know and for us to wonder about."

Quistis walked up to the door, pausing to take a breath and smooth down her wild hair. Then she lifted her hand to knock. She waited for an answer, but there was none. 

She lifted to knock again, but then the door swung open. 

Quistis looked down in surprise. It was a small child about four years old. 

"Maggie, get away from there," a voice scolded from another room. A girl walked up to the door. "Can I help you?" 

"Carrie?" Quistis asked. 

"Yes," she replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Quistis Trepe and I'm from Balamb Garden. I just wanted to speak with you for a while about a man that you know. A man named Davis Corodis." 

Carrie froze. "Davis? _Davis?_ I don't know who you are or why you're really here, but I will not speak to any friends of Davis'." Carrie lifted Maggie off the floor and slammed the door shut in Quistis face.

"Wait!" Quistis called through the door. "I'm not a friend of Davis'. It's just that I'm going through what you're going through. And I need help." 

She listened inside the house. It got quiet. Then she heard feet shuffle to the door and it opened. 

"Come in," Carrie said. She held open the door for Quistis. 

"Thank you," Quistis said, following the girl in her house. She saw that there was nothing much in it. The living room just had two couches and a small radio. She could see into the kitchen that there was just a portable refrigerator and a kitchen table. But there were clothes everywhere. Thrown carelessly onto the furniture and piled on the bare floor. She had a feeling that Davis was supposed to play a major role in this and he wasn't doing a very good job.

"Have a seat," Carrie said to Quistis after pushing some of the clothes off to the side, giving her enough room to sit. 

Quistis obliged and looked at Carrie. "Well, Carrie. As I said before, I'm Quistis Trepe and I am from Balamb Garden. I wanted to speak with you about-"

"Davis," Carrie finished for her. "Yes, I know Davis. He's the man that ruined my life. All but four years ago. It doesn't seem that long ago. It seems like it just happened yesterday, but Maggie is a reminder of how long it was and what happened."

Quistis paled. "You mean that Maggie is Davis'?"

Carrie nodded. "Yes. I love her with all my heart. She is my life. But she always reminds me of what Davis did to me."

Quistis pressed on. "And what exactly is that?"

"He raped me!" Carrie forced out. "Geez, you really must be dense if you hadn't figured that out by now. Or do you just believe the lies that everyone else believed?"

"No!" Quistis said. "It's just that I wanted to be sure. I mean, I'm trying to find out everything about him so that I can expose him to the Garden for the scum that he is. I just need statements from every girl that he has raped so I can have evidence."

"....Every girl? You mean that he has raped more girl than myself?"

Quistis nodded. "One of my good friends was raped by him. You are two. I have four more schools to go to, but I may only go to one or two more. Did you happen to file a report about the incident?"

"Yes," Carrie said. "I have a few copies lying around the house. I'll go find you one." 

"Thank you," Quistis said. She looked at Maggie who was playing with a dirty stuffed animal. Quistis cringed at the thought of how many germs were on that toy. 

"Come here, Maggie," Quistis said to the little girl. Maggie obliged and walked over to Quistis shyly, clutching the animal for dear life. 

"I'm not mean," Quistis said, trying to coax the girl to come closer. When she was close enough, Quistis lifted the girl and placed her on her lap. She then pulled out a candy bar that she got when she was at Galbadia. "Here you go," she said. The girl smiled brightly and tore the wrapper off the candy, taking a big bite out of it. 

"Take it easy!" Quistis said, laughing a little. Maggie devoured the rest of the candy. Quistis felt something in her chest. Like a heaviness. Almost like you feel when you're about to cry. And she knew why she felt like crying....

This little girl with the effects of starvation and malnutrition. She didn't have a decent home to live in. If this is what you would call a home. Her mother didn't know what to do to help raise Maggie. She had no job, obviously and Quistis would bet on her life that there was no food in the fridge. She could tell because of the way Maggie ate the candy bar. This was Davis' girl and where was he? Getting a kick out of ruining other people's lives for his own pleasure. "Well not anymore," Quistis said to herself quietly. 

"Here you go," Carrie said as she walked back into the living room. Carrie sat down in a table chair and took out a pack of cigarettes. "This is a copy. I have a few lying around just to keep in case of anything. I filed this at the Garden. All they did was make him transfer. No probation, no suspension. Not even a slap on the wrist. Davis is smart. Both book wise and street wise. He had the Headmaster eating out of his hand when he first went to Galbadia, and now I bet he's doing the same at your Garden. If I were you, I'd hurry and expose him before he can transfer again and ruin somebody else's life."

Quistis nodded and stood up. "Thank you very much Carrie," she said. Quistis gave Carrie a hug and turned to leave. 

"Thanks for the candy," Maggie called out less shyly, clinging to her mothers leg. 

Quistis nodded and smiled at the girl. Then she walked out of her house quickly before Carrie found out that she had slipped most of her gil under a dirty cup in the living room. They needed it more than she did. 

A.N: Here it is...the chapter that so many have been waiting for the longest time. Sorry I took so long peeps. I didn't see where this was going and I still don't, but I'll try to get a good story line coming out probably in the next chapter. 


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